Melka Kunture
Encyclopedia
Melka Kunture is a Palaeolithic site in Ethiopia
. It is located 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa
by road, across the Awash River
from the village of Melka Awash, with a latitude and longitude of 8°41′0"N 37°38′0"E. Three waterfalls lie downstream of the bridge across the Awash here, which provides access south to Butajira
.
French archeologists sponsored by the Mission Archéologique Française en Éthiopie have worked in the neighborhood of Melka Kunture since the 1960s, uncovering over 30 occupation sites. The finds are dated by volcanic depositions left by eruptions of Mount Zuqualla
, southeast of Melka Kunture. A museum was built at the site by the Oromia Culture and Tourism Commission with financial assistance from the European Community, consisting of four buildings of exhibits—one on Prehistoric Africa, another on Geology and Volcanology, a third on Paleoanthropology, the fourth on the Prehistory of Melka Kunture—and the "Open Air Museum", which displays the excavation of two Acheulean
sites that have been dated to 0.8 Million years Before Present
.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. It is located 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
by road, across the Awash River
Awash River
The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...
from the village of Melka Awash, with a latitude and longitude of 8°41′0"N 37°38′0"E. Three waterfalls lie downstream of the bridge across the Awash here, which provides access south to Butajira
Butajira
Butajira is a town in south-central Ethiopia. Located at the base of the Zebidar massif in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2131 meters above sea level...
.
French archeologists sponsored by the Mission Archéologique Française en Éthiopie have worked in the neighborhood of Melka Kunture since the 1960s, uncovering over 30 occupation sites. The finds are dated by volcanic depositions left by eruptions of Mount Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla is an extinct volcano in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Situated in Ada'a Chukala woreda of the Misraq Shewa Zone, it rises from the plain 30 kilometers south of Debre Zeyit...
, southeast of Melka Kunture. A museum was built at the site by the Oromia Culture and Tourism Commission with financial assistance from the European Community, consisting of four buildings of exhibits—one on Prehistoric Africa, another on Geology and Volcanology, a third on Paleoanthropology, the fourth on the Prehistory of Melka Kunture—and the "Open Air Museum", which displays the excavation of two Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
sites that have been dated to 0.8 Million years Before Present
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
.
External links
- "Melka Kunture", University of Rome, "La Sapienza, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Archeologiche e Antropologiche dell’Antichità.
- Jean Chavaillon and Marcello Piperno (editors), Studies on the Early Paleolithic site of Melka Kunture, Ethiopia. Florence: Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, 2004.